Minatory
by anime-fan72
Summary: AU loosely based off Disney's Maleficent, Cobra is one of the Fair Folk. When he trusts the wrong human and is betrayed, he turns bitter and cruel. After cursing his once trusted confidant, Brain, can Cobra learn to love and trust again?
1. Chapter 1

**Dedicated to the incredible Eien ni Touko.**

 **This is based off the book version of Maleficent, and I will be changing nearly all of the character relationships. Please note this as you read. Not much will be different from this prologue and the one in the book. Most dialogue and description will be near identical. The story will deviate more in the future, but this is some nice background into Brain.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. I don't own Maleficent either! Disney holds that right.**

 ** _Minatory: adj. "To have a menacing quality."_**

 _This is the story of the faerie Erik. Not the story you might know. Not the one that start with enslavement and ends with finding the light. No. This an entirely different story. And while it might have finding the light and a snake, it has much more. For it is a story of lost trust, found kindness, and, ultimately, the power of a loving heart._

It was late afternoon as the sun shone on bright green grass. A few clouds skidded across the sky as sheep, with similar fluffy shapes, grazed in the field. Sitting on a stone wall, a shepherd and his son watched the flock as they ate their dinner. Two dogs sat resting at their feet.

The boy, called Brain by all for his intelligence ( though he once had another name, it had been quickly forgotten by all except his mother who only used it in moments of extreme anger), watched the sheep critically. It was his first time in the pasture. He had been excited to finally follow in his father's footsteps, but now he realized how boring it could be to be a shepherd. It had been easy for him to run silently behind his father so as to not scare off the sheep, but as the two males called out loudly to make the animals move along, he felt uncomfortable, embarrassed to be doing something so foolish-looking.

With all the excitement, running, and yelling, Brain was terrifically hungry. He observed his father place his sweet cake on the ground and form a wreath of soil around it while he ate his own cake. Confused and slightly concerned for his father, he asked, "You didn't want your sweet cake, Father?"

"I'm leaving it there for the Fair Folk," the shepherd replied seriously.

Brain waited for his father to crack a smile, give his signature booming laugh, and say he simply did not want the treat. He quickly realized this was no joke, even though the boy had never heard of this before. "Why?" was his next question.

With a proud smile at his son's intelligent curiosity, he answered, "I have to thank them for their hard work to help nature grow. And to show them we mean them no harm."

Brain was not satisfied with this, though. When he found something he knew nothing about, he had to learn everything about it. So of course he had more questions. "Why do they do that? Why would we harm them?" His voice was rather cold, analytical, as he voiced his thoughts.

The shepherd looked down at his worn, dirty boots before replying. King Precht had been demanding more and more crops and sheep every year as taxes, and times had gotten hard. People had started calling him King Hades behind his back. Boots, love, dirt were things that were kept close in the heart of the farmer. "The Fair Folk are a part of nature. They care to all other parts of it, animals, plants, even water and air. Not all humans appreciate all they do, however. Some attack their land, wanting to take the wealth of their natural treasures. Plenty of pointless wars between greedy humans and the Fair Folk have been fought because of it. The last big one, though,must've been 'bout 400 years ago, when King Zeref was in power, may his black name live on in infamy. And even though both sides have strived for peace since then, we always seem on the brink of another war."

Brain did not know what to make of what his father said. It seemed like gibberish, silly really. The boy refrained from saying silly things, as he was conscientious of his image. It would not do for someone called Brain to be known to say ridiculous things. Without a way to punish his father for doing so, he moved on with his list of questions. "Why did you do that with the dirt?"

"A sign of respect," his father said matter-of-factly. "So the Fair Folk don't fear poisoning, we let them know it's safe for them to eat. Faeries can be quite cruel when they are provoked." Standing up and calling to the dogs, he cut off the conversation there.

Behind him, the boy frowned in disappointment. He still had questions. Brain had never heard of cruel faeries before. Inquisitive, he scanned the stone wall without success before racing after his father. Once he was at his father's side, he began to look for the Fair Folk, eager to see what they looked like.

As the two herded the sheep back home, the son was looking up at the sky and down ay the ground to catch sight of a faerie. Noticing an odd-looking green creature perched on a flower, he stopped and asked his father, "Is that one of the Fairy Folk?" If it was, it was rather ugly. And he did not think its anger would be fearsome.

The shepherd shook his head with a soft smile at his son. "No, simply a grasshopper."

Brain felt slightly foolish for not knowing that already, and he could feel the blush forming on his face, so he quickly diverted attention away from himself. Pointing at another flower, he asked once more, "Is that one of the Fair Folk?"

Once more, the shepherd shook his head. "That's a dragonfly." To ward off more similar questions, and to save his son some dignity, the man knew he had to elaborate. "Not all the Fair Folk are small. Some are even our size or larger. Some have wings, some don't. They all have pointy ears."

The boy tried to discreetly feel the tips of his ears. His eyes widened, and he called, "Could I be one?"

Hiding his amusement, the shepherd stopped and turned to regard his son. "Let me see," he said, examining Brain's head. "No, they're not pointy." He whirled his son around. "And no wings. You're just a boy."

The boy sighed. The shepherd mistook it for relief, but it truly was disappointment. Brain did not just want to see one of the faeries, he would adore having magic of his own.

His father continued speaking, raising a finger to point past the field. "If you were one of them, you'd live there, in the Moors. That's what all the fuss is about."

Brain's eyes followed the finger to study the Moors, which he had never seen before. He had heard stories of how sheep would wander in and never return, but his home was too far away for him to have caught a glimpse of them before. They were covered in mist, keeping their secrets well-hidden from the boy's gaze. They stretched on in both directions, with tall twisted trees that concealed the land behind them. Cattails grew at the edge, stretching towards the human land as if they too were curious. He shivered in awe of the mystery. He would delight in solving the puzzle that was the Moors.

The shepherd moved on with the sheep, but Brain lingered, his eyes glued to the Moors. He could barely discern food and talismans left on the ground and hung from the branches of the trees at the edge of the faerie land. Even squinting, he could not make out more through the mist. Curiosity nowhere near sated, he made his way over to the misty glen.

And he found himself standing at the edge, mist cleared enough to show him the rocks and shrubbery covering the ground. Kneeling, he pulled the half-eaten sweet cake from his pocket (forgotten in his fascination with the Fair Folk) and carefully placed it upon a stone. He grabbed a handful of dirt and sprinkled it around the cake. A step back, and he waited.

Nothing. He nudged the cake closer to the center of the rock. Still nothing. Brain was disappointed and turned to leave. The sun would set soon, and he needed to return home with his father. As if fate heard him and decided to be merciful, a soft fluttering sound could be heard behind him. He stopped and turned back around cautiously. He watched a pair of small, insect-like antennae rise over the rock.

The boy quickly ducked behind a tree to continue his observation, heart racing and breath gasping in excitement. With a quiver of the antennae to test the air, two tiny blue wings came into view, followed by a brilliant blue faerie which climbed onto the rock. Her skin seemed iridescent, like dew, and her wings mesmerized Brain as they were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Unaware of her company, the tiny faerie reached for the cake. Alas, the boy hiding behind the tree felt the telltale nose twitch. Wiggling his nose to try and prevent the inevitable failed. He sneezed.

The faerie spun and locked eyes with him. For a breath, neither moved, each awed by the other's presence. The moment was shattered by the bark of one of the dogs as it bounded over. Before Brain could say a word, the faerie had flown off, vanished, leaving the cake behind.

He gave a small disappointed sigh before standing and walking away from the Moors, his mind still full of questions and thoughts. What kind of faerie had that been? Was she young or old? Was she kind or cruel? Were there others like her? Most importantly, where was she going? For now, his curiosity had to be satisfied.

 _'Another day,_ ' he thought. _'Another day.'_


	2. Chapter 2

**A slight apology, I included a very unorthodox pairing as Cobra's parents. I simply had no idea who to put, so *shrugs***

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Maleficent.**

The dew faerie flew quickly away from the young boy and his terrifying furry creature. Levy believed she had read somewhere that it was called a dog and considered rather friendly. _That author ought to meet that dog and see if dogs are friendly or not!_ The blue faerie made her way farther into the Moors as the sun set, releasing brilliant shades of pink, purple, and blue. As the sky grew darker, nature grew louder. Owls hooted, crows cawed, and bugs droned as they moved between flowers. Levy glanced over her shoulder to see the trees marking the border vanish into the distance as older and larger ones came into view. She had studied these trees for a long time, all the different colors of their trunks ranging from dark brown to light gray, and yet she never learned what kind of trees they were. They rose high into the sky, a canopy for the Moors. Within, birds called and squirrels raced; none were daunted by the height.

Levy moved along quickly. She passed the pond where the water faeries, led by Juvia, splashed about, sending water droplets flying. She waved to her similarly blue-colored friend and continued up over a hill and through a glen. She went right at the tree which was split in two and crossed a large field of red flowers. Beyond, she passed a dark pond and cave where the mudgeons lived. She kept her head ducked to not make eye contact. The creatures, with big ears and wrinkled foreheads from constant worry, were sweet, but Nab allowed them to be a little too relaxed in their housekeeping for Levy's taste. The blue faerie beat her wings faster and faster. _Almost there._

Finally, she arrived in the beautiful wooded grove, Fairy Tail. The very heart of the Moors, the grove was special to all who lived there. Full of magic, Fairy Tail seemed to pour out energy from the creatures and flora within it. Naturally circular, it consisted of peat bogs, some small streams, and a large tree that overlooked everything. Landing at the edge of a bog, Levy looked around at her home, happy to see familiar faces.

She heard a wallerbog grunt as it settled into the muddy bog, one of Gajeel's kinsmen. The creatures all had pointy ears that hung from the sides of their heads and antennae fringed in pink. They all sat together, creating mud to help the bog survive.

Farther, purple fishlike creatures with huge eyes and mouths filtered water through their fins, making it fresh and clean. They were led by Aquarius, a rather angry faerie whose wrath was the only thing keeping Happy from trying to eat her kinsmen. Nearby, some stone faeries, led by Jura, arranged stones in the clean stream to help it flow. They were gray hairless creatures that looked like the rocks they worked with. Everywhere in Fairy Tail, the creatures worked together to keep nature balanced and in harmony. It was their way of thanking the grove for providing such a wonderful place to live when they had nowhere else to go.

In the middle sat the Magnolia Tree. Enormous and beautiful, the tree's twisted trunk rose into thick, long branches and descended into a mossy maze of curled roots. Shiny leaves and pink blossoms covered the branches, twisting the moon's light to cast green and pink light through the grove. Sitting against the trunk was a human-sized faerie, her baby in one arm. Her raven hair shone and her large wings rested over her and her baby like a feathered blanket as she hummed a lullaby. Raising one hand, she sped up the growth of the tree so new night blossoms unfurled on the branches overhead. She made the leaves and flowers dance, swaying to her song, as her son was lulled to sleep.

"Ultear," called a warm voice behind. Suddenly, from out of the tree, a tall faerie appeared by her side. It was her husband, Azuma, returned from a visit to the Crime Sorciere lake at the very edge of the Moors.

"Shhh," she chided him with a smack to the back of his head. "He's fast asleep, but you know how fast he can wake up."

"Ah, that's true." He smiled sheepishly and tilted his head to take in the view of his little sleeping devil. He kissed his son on the forehead and hugged his wife.

"How did it go?" she asked once he had sat next to her against the tree.

Azuma sighed, a frown making its way onto his face. "It didn't go. The humans did not come. I waited at the lake until the sun set, and then headed back."

Ultear took in this information, knowing the problems of another day lost in the efforts for peace. Most Fair Folk did not trust humans, having seen countless attacks from them, but Azuma and Ultear no longer numbered among them. The two had learned the importance of forgiveness and love, how they could not judge an entire species on the actions of a few. It had been a stubborn battle between them and Makarov, the old ruler of the Moors (now retired and living happily in the Blue Pegasus hills being chased around by Porlyusica), but Azuma and Ultear were better rulers for it. The now believed peace between the races was possible. They had forged relationships with local farmers and shepherds. Those people proved kind humans existed, humans who appreciated nature. The seeds for their home, the Magnolia Tree, had come as a gift from the Melon family for helping their crops through a drought and returning a book written by Kaby Melon's father. With just a touch of Ultear's magic, she had turned the seeds into her and Azuma's home, a piece of nature revered by all in the Moors, despite its origins.

It appeared that the new fragile peace with the humans was in danger of snapping. Sentries, otherwise known as Exceeds, the towering tree-like creatures who guarded the border, had alerted the Fair Folk that armored humans had been poking around the area, alarming most faeries. They believed it was a sign that a new batch of humans were looking to invade and drain the Moors of its riches, the start of a new war like the one against King Zeref, may his black name live on in infamy. Ultear and Azuma hoped to break the cycle of violence by initiating peace talks.

"What did Pantherlily make of it?" Ultear asked, referencing the leader of the Exceeds.

"He was concerned. The humans have been coming to the waterfall at Crime Sorciere lake every day at the same time for a week. It is odd they suddenly stopped visiting."

Ultear did not respond. Silence sat heavily between them, but they knew what was on the other's mind: The foolish hope that perhaps these humans wished to explore the Moors, or if their intent was malicious, that they had abandoned their mission. The two feared that the opportunity to change history, to provide peace for their son was lost. Foreboding tensions seemed to only grow in the air.

"Tomorrow," Azuma said, breaking the silence. "I will return tomorrow."

"I will go with you," Ultear added, glaring at her husband when he moved to argue with her. "I need to be there. Erik will be in good hands here with the others." Azuma could only nod in acquiescence.

A wind breezed through the branches as Ultear rested her head on Azuma's shoulder and he rested his head on hers. Despite the heaviness in their hearts, they joined their son in sleep under the Magnolia Tree.


	3. Chapter 3

**Short chapter because of some insomnia problems that are really on my ass today. Sorry about that. Though, looking back, maybe it isn't as short as I thought it was going to be.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Maleficent.**

The first thing Azuma and Ultear heard was the screeching birds. Next came the screaming.

"War! We're at war!" yelled Jura, no pleasure in his voice at the pronouncement. The stone faerie was known for his love of peace, despite his prowess in a fight.

"The humans have attacked!" cried Juvia. "No no no! They will ruin Juvia's hard work! How will Juvia impress Gray-sama if the humans ruin her river! The humans will pay! Love Rivals!" The water faerie was known for being slightly irrational when it came to Gray, a pixie.

Azuma and Ultear jumped up and unfurled their wings. Night still ruled, and the sky was black, not even the stars were out for hope and guidance. Faeries and animals both raced across the leaf-strewn land, through streams, and in the air. The ravenette looked down at her precious son, surprised that the chaos had not woken him, what with his highly sensitive hearing.

Three disheveled pixies flew by the rulers of the Moors in a hurry. _Well, look at that_ , Ultear noted distantly, _speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear._ One of the pixies was Gray, Juvia's love.

"What's happened?" She asked them, blocking their way with a menacing gleam in her eye.

Shivering in fear at his adoptive sister's "scary look", Gray shouted, "The humans are here. At the border. A whole army of them."

"With weapons!" said a red pixie, Erza. Of course she would take the time to notice the weapons of the enemy when her home was being attacked.

"And disgusting fire!" added the hyperactive pink one, Natsu. The fire pixie would taste the torches before booking it. His insatiable hunger knew no bounds.

Her eyes now full of worry, Ultear turned to her silent husband as the pixies flew off.

"There may still be time." Azuma answered her unspoken question, trying to give his wife some reassurance. He was ever the optimist, a pacifist to his very core after Makarov reformed the two. "If we can just reason with them…"

She quickly nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, of course," she rushed. "We need to get to the border." The faerie clutched at her sleeping son as the pair flew to the lush area underneath the Magnolia Tree. Searching the inlet, they called for their trusted friends.

"Racer? Angel? Hoteye?" These were not their true names, as those were only used in times of privacy. There was much power in a true name. Ultear still called her son by his true name, Erik, since infants were not susceptible to the effects. Faeries had to wait until their magic developed to gain a common name.

"Midnight?" Ultear cried as she saw the small, narcoleptic faerie buzz over to them. Midnight had been a close friend for ages, from the days when Azuma and Ultear plotted to overthrow Makarov. He had remained loyal, along with their other three friends, and reformed himself. Still given to sleeping everywhere under any circumstances, he was good at fighting and fiercely loyal, not exactly a ray of brightness of positivity, not with the makeup making him look like a slutty panda when it got smudged (which it did very often. If he wished to wear that makeup and sleep everywhere, perhaps Midnight should kick the habit of rubbing his eyes when he woke up) and his raging potty mouth (the slutty panda comment was his own pronouncement from looking in a mirror after three consecutive naps). He was realistic and brutally honest. His straightforwardness was much appreciated in the dark, uncertain times which too often plagued the Moors. That night, his makeup-bedecked face formed a grave expression. While not prepossessed of a sunshiney disposition, such a serious look was rare. He normally looked bored or sleepy with a dash of amusement.

"There you three are! The others have been looking everywhere for you." he announced when he reached them. "I would have helped, but we all know that I would fall asleep within minutes of starting to search. The burrow over there is the safe haven for those not fighting. Come on, this way."

"No." Ultear stopped him with that simple two letter word. "Please, we need Erik to go with you to the safe haven, but we will not. Our duty is elsewhere."

Azuma chose to elaborate, as if his wife's words were not clear enough. "We're going to the front lines."

Midnight stared at them for a moment before sighing and nodding. He knew about their efforts to initiate peace, how much it would mean to them to stop the fighting for good. He also knew how stubborn they were and that no matter which convincing arguments or bits of logic he tried to use to get them to go to the safe haven, he would fail. Arguing would be a waste of time.

"Alright then," he replied wearily. _What I wouldn't do for a nice, long nap right about now._ "But follow me to the burrow first. I don't think I'm exactly strong enough to carry him myself." Especially since he was smaller than the baby.

The faeries flew single file, silent amid the loud chaos around them. Only when Erik had been kissed goodbye by his parents and gently placed in the burrow, surrounded by a rainbow of colorful creatures watching over him did any of them speak once more.

"Thank you," Azuma said while giving Midnight a meaningful look. "We'll be back as soon as we can. In the meantime, we expect you and the rest of the Oracion Seis to look after him." The Oracion Seis was made up of Midnight, Angel, Hoteye, and Racer. It was a group of essentially bodyguards for the heirs to the throne. Midnight was their leader, inheriting the position from his fathers, Brain and Zero, as well as their teammate Klodoa. The three had retired to a rather dark and isolated part of the forest as Brain and Klodoa dealt with Zero's apparent madness after believing Midnight had died during one of Zero's training exercises.

Azuma and Ultear swiftly took off into the blackness, heading towards the loud noises and flashing lights at the border. Ultear looked like a small raven soaring in the sky, while Azuma preferred to travel through the trees instead of flying. He had become quite adept at becoming one with the Moors.

As soon as the rulers were out of sight, Midnight turned to look at the resting baby, still under the spell of sleep. He did not know his parents had just flown off into danger so the Moors could thrive while he grew up.

"Keep sleeping," he whispered to him. His teammates had gathered around and set up a rotation for watching over Erik. Midnight settled down against a wall of the burrow, crossing his arms and legs in his usual sleeping position. Before closing his eyes and losing himself to his dreams, he murmured, "We'll look after you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Short chapter, but then again, I wasn't expecting to update so early. This just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it.**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Fairy Tail or Maleficent.**

As was usually the case with nights of uncalled for excitement, that night dragged on slowly. The faeries in the burrow did not believe they could sleep through the terrifying sounds coming from all around them, except for Midnight of course. He could sleep through anything. They also could not believe that the sun would ever rise again to create a morning, that the terror of the night would be eternal. But they were wrong, and sleep they did, and the sun did rise to mark the start of a new dawn and a new age. The sun brought with it the choruses of birds and flurries of activity throughout the Moors.

"It's over!" shouted Gildarts, a perverted but kind hedgehog faerie with great skills in battle.

"It's over!" echoed Rufus and Freed, a pair of dew faeries flying overhead. They were Levy's kinsmen and the three normally spent their days pleasantly discussing literature.

Midnight awoke with a start. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found he was alone in the dark burrow. If it had been any other day, he would have shrugged it off as his team not having the patience to wait for him to finish his beauty sleep. Today, however, he panicked.

"Angel! Hoteye! Racer! Erik! Mavis, if the humans took them, so help me… they will learn the truth of nightmares… Angel!" he snarled as he raced out of the burrow.

"It's all right. No need to go all Monster Illusion on the humans." It was a voice, bright like bells but full of sarcasm, his teammate Angel's voice.

Midnight turned to his right and saw baby Erik lying in a large nest next to Juvia's stream. Four water faeries, Juvia, Brandish, Sue, and Boze, were busy cleaning his hair, dropping small amounts of the clear water provided by Aquarius over his head. Erik was squirming in the nest, reaching towards them to help him escape being bathed, while Hoteye and Racer stood guard near the nest.

"They've been spreading the news all morning while you were busy getting your beauty sleep," Angel announced. "The battle is over and the Moors are safe again."

"We want to get Erik ready to see Ultear and Azuma when they get back. I'm sure they'll be here any moment." Hoteye added with a sigh. "Such love they hold! Oh yeah!"

Midnight winced at the sound of his teammate's signature saying, before breaking into a small smile of relief. "Well, I guess that means they did it." He buzzed over to Erik and examined him. The baby seemed fine other than uncomfortable with the four faeries washing his hair.

A few hours later, after Angel had fed Erik some berries and Hoteye and played a few dozen rounds of peekaboo with him (Erik was a baby after all, those were the sort of things which amused him), the infant began to cry quietly. Midnight was sure he was in tune with the group's shared uneasiness, intuitively deducing that something was wrong. Midnight's own suspicions were confirmed when he saw an Exceed slowly headed their way.

The wooden creatures hardly ever came near Fairy Tail, finding themselves more comfortable in the Extalia marsh. They were quite serious about their jobs as border guards and only something highly important would have led one to travel so far, especially so soon after such a battle. As the Exceed continued to come forward, his large footsteps and shadow brought many other creatures and Fair Folk out of the woodwork.

"Why are you here, Happy?" asked Midnight when he approached the Oracion Seis. "When can we expect Ultear and Azuma to return?"

The sentry, generally known for his bright mood and love of fish, was uncharacteristically somber as he shifted his weight. "I have some bad news. I wanted to be the one to tell everyone, and spare Pantherlily from increasing his guilt, but now it's hard to say."

Some of the faeries, Levy, Freed, Rufus, Jura, and Juvia, flew up to Happy's head and gathered closer to him to hear. All the Fair Folk were nervous to listen and afraid of the news he carried.

"I thought we won the battle," Racer offered to break the tense silence.

"Our home is safe from the humans for now," Happy began, still strangely subdued. "But at a price, even worse than giving up fish for the rest of my life. Ultear and Azuma were killed last night." Tears were rolling down his face as he finally broke the news. All the Exceeds were extremely loyal to their rulers, but Happy was especially. Ultear and Azuma had been very kind to him, even though he was considered rather silly and sometimes useless by his brethren. The two had even brought him fish on occasion, putting them at the top of the sentry's important people list (well, right behind Carla, but no one needed to know about that).

At his pronouncement, gasps filled the area, and Erik wailed even louder in his nest. The other Fair Folk looked at him, shock and sorrow for the infant faerie covering their faces.

Midnight was the first to move, surprising since he was usually the last to do so on account of his narcoleptic tendencies. Slowly, he flew over to Erik's side, touching his shoulder in sympathy. One by one, the others followed his lead, Hoteye, Angel, and Racer near his feet, Juvia and the water faeries near his head, Gajeel and the wallerbogs leaving their bog to sit by his side.

Then they all flew off with him as Happy and other creatures followed in a somber procession. They all made their way to their destination without ever speaking aloud, to the Magnolia Tree. The faeries gently lowered Erik against the magnificent tree, as beams of light filtered through the leaves to form what appeared to be a halo around his head. As he was settled, he finally stopped crying. The Fair Folk stood and flew around him, forming a protective circle around the one who would be their ruler. Midnight was the first to speak, and he spoke for them all.

"We'll look after you."


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, I hope the childhood scenes here make up for the deaths last chapter. I do apologize for those, but they were necessary. Secondly, I will be bumping up the rating of this story (at the moment, the primary reason is Midnight's potty mouth). Lastly, this will be the last chapter I post for a while. I will be without internet until the end of July, but I hope to return then with more chapters! We're still in the very beginning of this story, and there is so much still to get through. Cobra hasn't even met Brain yet!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Maleficent.**

The years passed slowly, as one day in the Moors was equal to three months in the rest of the world, but Erik grew to be a rather happy faerie child. All the Fair Folk pitched in to raise him, taking care of him, teaching him their skills, their languages, their work, until he put his foot down and said he did not need to be looked after anymore. He learned quickly and proved to be highly independent from a young age. The other Fair Folk turned from caretakers into friends, and Erik made sure to visit them all so they would not worry about him. His favorite visits were the ones when the others told him stories about his parents.

"Your wings are so much like your mother's," Angel would note as she helped Erik learn how to fly. He was not quite in control of his large wings just yet, but he hoped to make his mother proud.

"Your skin… it's nearly identical to your father's," Hoteye would remark as the two walked through the forest. "It must be a sign of love! Oh yeah!" While the elder faerie was lost in his raptures of love, Erik would sneak a peak into a pond, playing closer attention to his skin than he would have otherwise.

Erik most enjoyed, and was most annoyed by, his time spent with Midnight. The sleepy faerie loved to tease his young charge who would get payback by hiding his makeup in strange places like behind the Crime Sorciere waterfall or in the wallerbogs' bog. Often, other Fair Folk would watch as Erik raced by, being chased and yelled after by Midnight who would lecture the faerie on doing dangerous and stupid stunts. Together, though, the two would also play tricks on nearby faeries. They would have to stifle their laughter after seeing the confusion on Jura's face after rearranging the stone faerie's rocks that were right next to him. Or the time they got away with eating the pixie Erza's cake and watched the resulting fight as she blamed Gray and Natsu for its disappearance.

Most of the time, the two would sit in the Magnolia Tree. Rather, Erik would sit and Midnight would nap. The narcoleptic faerie would reward the his patience with stories about his parents, as Midnight knew them the best. Most of the stories he told were silly, some (especially about how his parents met and fell in love) were sweet, but all made Erik smile. He would never admit it, but he wished that he could have met his parents, have some sort of memory of them, before they died.

"I pooped up from under the bog, guess I should have known better than to antagonize Gajeel, and scared the living fireflies out of Azuma. It was quite the reward, well worth getting thrown into the bog." Midnight smirked, thinking of the memory, and Erik tried to contain his laughter.

"And he was trying to impress my mother too! That's just perfect," Erik said, his laughter escaping.

"He still managed to impress her, even after jumping ten feet in the air like a fucking scaredy cat. Whoops, language. Erik, you didn't hear that."

"Shouldn't you be saying that you didn't say that?"

"What would be the point of denying it? It's already been said, and I'm not going to shut up just because Angel thinks you need to be kept 'pure' or some shit like that. You didn't hear that either."

Erik couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous the faerie who was his best friend acted. He was sure the potty mouthed faerie was going to get beat up by the aforementioned purity-obsessed faerie when she finally figured out that Midnight had been cursing around her 'precious' Erik. When he managed to get himself back under control, he decided to change to the topic Midnight had always avoided.

"Midnight… have you ever seen a human close-up?"

The Oracion Seis leader frowned as his thoughts immediately turned to the night of the last human invasion. "No kid, I haven't and I wouldn't want to. They're all fucking assholes, humans. You didn't hear that."

Erik straightened, his speech growing more animated. "But I thought my parents believed good humans existed, and that we could have a good relationship with them."

"They did," Midnight agreed before continuing, his voice gentle but firm. "But you also know what that belief cost them." Sometimes, he would forget how young and innocent Erik still was. "Humans are greedy, trying to steal our treasures, pillage our land. They even carry weapons made of fucking iron. That shit burns our kind and it hurts like hell. You didn't hear that."

"But humans are a part of nature, just as we are," Erik continued. This was a topic he had been thinking about a lot at night before he fell asleep as he watched the stars. Angel had tried to comfort him one night by telling him that when all creatures die, they go to heaven and become angels, that the stars were actually windows to heaven and his parents would be watching over him through them. Ever since, he made sure to look up at the stars before going to bed. "Of course there are horrible ones. Monsters. But there are mean faeries and animals, too, just like there plenty of nice ones. It can't be that all humans are all bad."

Midnight sat quietly. He could not encourage the younger faerie like he wanted. After losing his best friends on that night, he hated all humans for what they had taken away. Azuma and Ultear had been kind and just rulers, and far too young to die. "No, kid," he said with a pat on Erik's shoulder. "They are." He flew away from the Magnolia Tree and the conversation.

Erik gave a small sigh of disappointment, and rested against the tree. Maybe Midnight did not believe it, but he did. And he was sure his parents would be proud of him for doing so.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Short chapter, even though this took way too long to get out. Sorry about that, life has been busy (new projects, homework, new insomnia meds [which are kicking in so I can't add more to this chapter], and I'm helping my brother move). I have planned out the next like 6 chapters though, so more updates soon I hope.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Maleficent.**

Erik grew up quickly, as all faeries did. In only a matter of months in the Moors, he had become a rather happy ten year old. He had changed much, as had the world outside of the Moors (since for the humans, about thirty years had passed), but his home had remained basically the same. The Magnolia Tree was darker and slightly more bowed with age, but otherwise unaltered.

In this time, he found his magic, Poison, and chose his common name, Cobra. He spent his time flying, completely in control thanks to Angel, and with Midnight. Despite the two's differing views on humans, they were the best of friends. These were the things which brought the newly christened Cobra joy.

One day, he had chosen to fly, starting by soaring higher and higher into the sky. He burst above the clouds with a smile on his face before swooping back down to check on his friends. Following the burbling stream, he waved his hands and boulders shifted according to his direction. Once finished, he looked over the waterfall he had created, a new piece of beauty for the Moors.

Continuing on his way, he greeted Jura and the other stone faeries. "Morning!"

He flew over the wallerbogs who were having a mudball fight. They tried to include Cobra in their game, but he quickly began protesting. "No, no no! Don't you dare-"

Too late. Gajeel had thrown the mud, but he missed Cobra and hit Gildarts instead. The hedgehog faerie was swift in his revenge as Cobra laughed at Gajeel's fate. "Ha! You missed me!"

With a wave good-bye, he passed some skating water faeries, led by Juvia. "Great work!" he called to them before noticing Rufus, Freed, and Levy were following him. "Oi! Find your own gusts of wind! Freaking dew faeries." He muttered the last part under his breath, mindful of Angel who was still in denial about Cobra's purity (or lack thereof).

He glanced to the side to see Erza, Gray, and Natsu waving at him from their perch on a rock. The three pixies were destructive and headstrong, but Cobra had never seen them look so concerned. Landing in front of them, he asked, "What's the problem?"

Erza spoke rapidly. "Did you hear? The Exceeds have-"

"Why do you get to tell him?" Natsu interrupted him. "I want to tell him! It's only because Happy told me that you even know!" Gray stayed quiet, too wary of Erza's wrath to speak up.

Cobra sighed and fidgeted, weary of the pixies' antics. "Tell me what?"

"The Exceeds…" Erza trailed off, as if she had no idea how to continue (even though she had already knocked out Natsu with a punch for the privilege of telling Cobra).

"The Exceeds have found a human thief at the Quatro Cerberus pool of jewels." Gray finished for her, sighing impatiently.

Cobra's eyes grew wide with surprise and he took off with thoughts crowding his head. There was a human in the Moors. Of course, Midnight would never approve of him meeting it, but this was his chance to see what one was like. His curiosity had been provoked.


End file.
